MUSCAT — The government has initiated a scheme called Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme.

According to J. Andrew Davison, managing director, the Expat group, around 10,221 people (China 2,064, Bangladesh 1,578, the UK 1,125 and Japan 632) have opted to make Malaysia their second home. Set up by the government a few years ago, the programme allows foreign citizens from any recognised country to receive a 10-year multiple visa enabling them to live in the country year round or spend extended periods in Malaysia. Targeting the retirees, vacation home buyers, long stay visa holders and parents who wish to educate their children, the programme bars MM2H visa holders from taking up any employment in the country; with a possibility that this may be modified to allow older applicants to do part-time work. Applicants over the age of 50 have to place a Fixed Deposit of RM150,000 with a bank in Malaysia while applicants under 50 have to place a Fixed Deposit of RM300,000. Approved applicants receive a Social Visit Pass valid for 10 years with a multiple re-entry visa. Foreigners living in Malaysia are permitted to buy most residential properties costing over RM250,000 and it is possible to get loans from Malaysian banks to buy property in Malaysia. This is usually easier if you have an MM2H visa but is also possible if you have no visa to live in Malaysia. There is no capital gains tax on profits from property sales. MM2H visa holders are permitted to import their own car from their previous country of residence or their country of citizenship, free of any duty.

A beneficiary of the MM2H programme, Dr S. M. Syed Maqbool Moulana, now happily settled in Kuala Lumpur, spoke exclusively to Times of Oman. Maqbool shifted from Hong Kong after having stayed there as surgeon for more than 30 years. He felt that Malaysia had the ingredients to make a stay comfortable. His wife Nilofer, who loves painting, said that peace reigns all over the place and “you feel at home”.